Published 19:13 IST, December 4th 2020
'Just taking advantage of poor': Tenants sue Trump, his siblings over 'decade-long fraud'
US President Donald Trump and his siblings have been sued by tenants of the rent-regulated apartments that were once owned by the POTUS’ father, Fred Trump.
US President Donald Trump and his siblings have been sued by tenants of the rent-regulated apartments that were once owned by the POTUS’ father, Fred Trump. As per the New York Times report, the tenants of the majorly red-bricked apartments in New York have accused the Trumps of committing fraud for ten years to win artificially high rent increases through an invoice-padding scheme.
The scheme in reference to the lawsuit filed by tenants against the Trumps was also revealed by the media outlet, two years ago that invoked at least 20 per cent in addition to the cost of materials purchased for the apartments. This allowed the US President along with his siblings and cousins to divide the extra proceeds among themselves. The manoeuvre not only fetched millions of dollars for each sibling without any work but also allowed them to evade estate taxes on part of the fortune they received from Fred even though they were liable to income taxes.
Tenants paid the price of the scheme
However, while the manoeuvre proved beneficial for the Trumps, it was the tenants that reportedly paid the price. The laws in New York allow the owners of the rent-regulated apartments to increase the rents based on the costs of the major capital investments. US President and his siblings based their rent hike applications on the artificially increased invoices. Meaning, the boiler that in reality cost $50k would, in turn, generate a rent increase as if it had cost $60k.
Reportedly, the lawsuit filed against the Trumps at the New York Supreme Court in Brooklyn seeks the extra rent paid, interest and triple damages for both the current as well as the former tenants in ver 30 apartment complexes that belonged to Fred Trump. These apartments have names such as Beach Haven, Sore Haven, and Prak Briar. This lawsuit, if won by the tenants, can be financially damaging for the US President who recently also became the first US President to lose in his reelection bid in 30 years.
Trumps' spokesperson calls lawsuit 'frivolous'
As per the report, the spokesperson for the Trump family described the lawsuit filed by the tenants as "completely frivolous". In a statement to the media outlet, the Trump family spokesperson, Kimberly Benza said that the allegations posed by the tenants are baseless and added that they are seeking the outcome of events that happened nearly three decades ago. Furthermore, she also questioned the timing of the lawsuit filing as it was just a month before the US Election 2020. Apart from the latest lawsuit against US President, he is also facing two other New York investigations into his business activities along with related tax issues.
Image: AP
Updated 19:12 IST, December 4th 2020